1955 NERC Season

The 1955 NERC Season was the 10th season of the North-Eastern Runty Championship, the first professional runty league in the world. The league's 10 teams all faced each other home and away for a duration of 18 weeks.

The Champions Cup is yet to be played. The Westchester Racers and The Bronx Bears will face off to determine the season champion.

Regular Season
The NERC’s 10th season began with some extra festivities in honour of the anniversary. Members of Hempstead’s 1946 Champion team conducted the coin toss to open the season, and commissioner Elmer Wilkins said a few words. Since every game in week 1 was played at the same time, his message was telegrammed to the other stadia, and re-spoken at each of those sites.

The opening week was full of close games. First, the Racers edged the Knights, 29-24. The Bears rolled past the Scholars 35-24, The Islanders prevailed 32-29 against Brooklyn, the Clippers were 1-point victors against Boston, and the Panthers upset the Archers with a 5-point win.

GAMES OF THE WEEK:
Week 1: Hempstead 27-26 Boston

Week 2: the Bronx 27-26 Hempstead

Week 3: Hempstead 39-36 New York

Week 4: Staten Island 29-28 New York

Week 5: the Bronx 29-28 Staten Island

Week 6: Staten Island 29-27 Buffalo

Week 7: Hempstead 29-31 Manhattan

Week 8: Staten Island 29-28 Hempstead

Week 9: Manhattan 23-21 Brooklyn

Week 10: Westchester 29-27 New York

Week 11: New York 30-33 Buffalo

Week 12: Westchester 26-28 the Bronx

Week 13: Westchester 28-27 Buffalo

Week 14: New York 25-27 Boston

Week 15: Hempstead 35-42 Westchester

Week 16: Westchester 26-24 Staten Island

Week 17: Staten Island 24-28 Hempstead

Week 18: Westchester 33-31 Boston

1. WESTCHESTER RACERS

Leading Goalscorer: Joe Blake (39)

Clinching the coveted #1 seed in 1955 were the Westchester Racers. They had an amazing second half of the year, being victorious in all but one of their last 9 games. Joe Blake continued to have the offense firing on all cylinders, as he finished second in the league in scoring. However, it was their defense that was the story of the year. They were the only team to allow under 24 points per game, a very impressive stat for the league’s highest-scoring season so far. Westchester finished at 14-4, clinching a spot in the Champions Cup, win or lose in the semifinals.

2. BUFFALO PANTHERS

Leading Goalscorer: Des Samuel (43)

Finishing second and clinching home-field advantage for the semifinals were the Buffalo Panthers. All that really needed to be said for them were two words: Des Samuel. He became the first player in league history to kick over 40 goals in a season, and smashed the record for goals in a year (36), set by Joe Blake just one year earlier. While Samuel was the main reason for their high finish, The Panthers’ defense was also fairly solid, finishing second in the league. The Panthers finished at 11-4-3, with their ties helping them gain the second spot.

3. THE BRONX BEARS

Leading Goalscorer: Harvey Jochen (26)

Finishing third were the Bronx Bears. They definitely slowed down in the second half of the year, and almost lost their playoff spot altogether. However, a win over the Knights in the final week of the season set them in third. Despite their fall, Harvey Jochen shone in the second half, averaging just under 2 goals a game. It was mostly a one-man show though, as the Bears were the only playoff team to score under 500 points on the season. Their point differential was also low compared to the other playoff teams. The Bronx finished at 11-4-2.

4. MANHATTAN ARCHERS

Leading Goalscorer: Vern Chamne (20)

Similar to the Bears, the Archers also slowed down in the second half. However, they did worse, and were actually below 0.500 in their final 9 games. Some of those games were doozies, including a loss to Brooklyn in the final week of the season. This loss almost eliminated them from the playoffs entirely, but Hempstead couldn’t beat the Panthers to steal their spot. If the Archers can’t get themselves together by the playoffs, they’ll almost certainly be eliminated in the first round for the second straight year. Manhattan finished at 11-6-1, ahead of the Clippers on point differential.

5. HEMPSTEAD CLIPPERS

Leading Goalscorer: Perseus Whitney (25)

Finishing in 5th and just barely missing the playoff were the defending champion, the Hempstead Clippers. They certainly pushed for the playoffs, but a heartbreaking tie against Buffalo in Week 18 eliminated them for good. Head Coach Bernard Grand said that despite the elimination, his team “showed fight and hope” and that this was a “good learning experience for them”, showing that winning a championship means nothing the following year. Hempstead finished at 11-6-1, 28 points below Manhattan on point differential.

6. STATEN ISLAND ISLANDERS

Leading Goalscorer: Donovan O’Connor (17)

Finishing 6th were the Islanders, who finished at 0.500 or above for the second consecutive year, the first time in franchise history they had done so. This was a goal set by Staten Island prior to the year, so that they could improve once again the following year, and be a consistent playoff team instead of a one-and-done team. One area the Islanders struggled in was offense, and Donovan O’Connor’s total of 17 was the second-lowest total by a team’s goalscoring leader. The Islanders finished at 9-9.

7. BOSTON RIDERS

Leading Goalscorer: George Webb/Arnold Waden (12)

Finishing 7th and moving one spot up were the Boston Riders. It was still an overall disappointing season for them, but they showed in the second half that they still had some fight in them. Their 8-9-1 record was the same as in 1954, but this season saw both their offensive and defensive play go down, as their core was starting to show their age. One high point of the Riders’ season was a 35-point victory over the Scholars, setting an NERC record for largest victory on the road.

8. BROOKLYN DEVILS

Leading Goalscorer: Clarence Collins (19)

Finishing 8th and moving down a spot were the Brooklyn Devils. While their consistency went down from the first half, The Devils’ young core showed flashes of greatness, including a 14-point victory over Boston. However, there were plenty of rookie mistakes as well, something that would fade with time and experience. The most impressive aspect of the Devils was their offense, led by young players Clarence Collins and Manny Ramirez. Brooklyn finished at 7-11.

9. COLUMBIA ALUMNI SCHOLARS

Leading Goalscorer: Raymond Kirk (24)

Finishing in ninth was a major surprise. The Columbia Alumni Scholars managed to win not just one, but TWO games in the second half of the year. Those victories were a 1-point win over the Devils, and a season-high 5-point win over the Knights. Despite these wins, their second half was actually worse than their first half, their point differential went down by another 100+, meaning that their PD of -269 beat the previous lowest PD by 97 points. Over the course of the year, their offense gave up over 34 points per game, while their offense averaged under 20. Their future in the NERC was looking dim, as financial losses continued to pile up.

10. NEW YORK KNIGHTS

Leading Goalscorer: Gregory Kirk (24)

While the Scholars were the worst team in Runty history to win more than one game, the Knights had to have been the best team in any sport to win only 1 game all year. Despite losing 17 of 18 games, their PD was only -69, meaning their average margin of loss was less than 4 points per game. They came close so many times in the second half of the year to win another game, but could just never get the job done. At the end of the year, players were getting very frustrated, because nothing seemed to be going their way. But since they kept their games close, there’s hope for improvement in 1956.

Notable Events
-   After the Week 2 game between Manhattan and Staten Island, a mob of Manhattan fans went to the umpire and thanked him for not calling a penalty against Staten Island in the final minute, which most likely would have given the Islanders the win.

-   A few players who had been POWs in the Korean War played their first games since being released. Each player received a medal personally awarded by commissioner Wilkins.

-   Prior to the season, there were rumors of a serious crime committed by an NERC executive. However, nothing official was leaked. The league would most likely have to acknowledge this after the season was completed.

-   Boston player John Cyr competed in a track-and-field event and a full game on Runty on the same day, somehow without dying of exhaustion.

-   In Week 16, Boston player Alban Good got into an altercation with a fan, and was sent off. He was not suspended for his actions, as it was deemed that the fan had provoked him.

-   Knights player Perry Cisseaton kicked every single goal and point for his team in Week 18, the first time in NERC history this had happened.